ARRL News

American Radio Relay League \| Ham Radio Association and Resources The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) is the national association for amateur radio, connecting hams around the U.S. with news, information and resources.
The ARRL Solar Update Solar activity has been at low levels with only a few C1 flares from Region 4307. Slight growth and consolidation were observed in that region as it neared the southwestern limb. Slight decay and separation were observed in Region 4311. The rest of the spotted regions were either stable or in decay. CME analysis will be conducted as imagery becomes available. Solar activity is expected to be low with...
Up to $25,000 at Stake in New ARRL Student Coding Competition Pre-registration is now open for a Student Coding Competition, a new national challenge sponsored by ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio®. The project is designed to engage young radio amateurs in shaping the future of amateur radio through software development. Open to ARRL-member amateur radio operators aged 21 and younger, the competition will invite students to design a mobile a...
Obsolete Part 97 Rules to be Deleted February 10, 2026 The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in October 2025 adopted a Report and Order to delete almost 400 obsolete rules pertaining to its wireless services. As previously reported by ARRL, among the deletions were four in Part 97 that govern the Amateur Radio Service. ARRL reports that the notice of the Report and Order has now been published in the Federal Register. Unless an objection is ra...
The ARRL Solar Update Solar activity reached high levels this past week when Region 4299 produced an M1.1 (R1/Minor) flare on December 6. Shortly after, the region produced an M8.1/2b (R3/Strong) flare, also on December 6. Associated with the M8.1 flare was a 1,100 SFU Tenflare, a 1,143 km/s Type II sweep and a Type IV sweep. (A "sweep" is a solar radio burst that sweeps through the RF spectrum as the energy moves outward...
Help Someone Get Their FIRST Ham Radio License by the End of 2025
FCC Allocates 60-Meter World-Wide Amateur Band Approved at WRC-15; Continues Amateur Use of Four Additional 60-Meter Channels, and Updates 420 MHz Coordination Information The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on December 9, 2025, released a long-awaited Report and Order adopting a new amateur radio spectrum allocation in the 60-meter band that was approved for world-wide use on a secondary basis in the WRC-15 (World Radiocommunication Conference 2015) Final Acts. The Commission also agreed with a petition from ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radi...
ARRL to Host 2026 HamSCI Workshop at Central Connecticut State University
The ARRL Solar Update Solar activity was at low levels this past week with only C class flares. Region 4294 remains the largest region on the disk but is appearing to be simplifying magnetically. Region 4296, on the other hand, gained a delta region in its intermediary region, though with no corresponding increase in flare activity as of yet. New flux emerged along the eastern side of Region 4298, resulting in several C f...
Operators/Monitors Wanted for Meteor Scatter QSO Party December 12-13
“Space Sailors” Seeking Download Help from Ham Radio Operators Update 12/4/2025 (See original story, below.) ChipSat Signals Received; Listeners Still Needed Updating the story, ‘Space Sailors’ Seeking Download Help from Ham Radio Operators,” posted on December 2, 2025, Cornell University’s “ChipSat”-equipped light sail was successfully deployed on December 3 and several dozen telemetry signals from its ChipSat flight computers have been received and decoded...
LIVE YouTube Telethon to Support ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology Don’t miss it! The annual YouTube telethon to raise money for the ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology will be held on Saturday, November 29, 2025, beginning at 3 PM EST / 12 PM PST, on the Ham Radio Crash Course YouTube channel, hosted by Josh Nass, KI6NAZ. Join Nass and several other amateur radio contributors for a fun and entertaining livestream. They’ll cover a variety of amateur ...
2025 ARRL Board of Directors Election Results ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® announces the results of the 2025 ARRL Division elections. In the ARRL Pacific Division, current Director John Litz, NZ6Q (1,270 votes), of Stockton, California, was declared the winner, defeating Bob Vallio, W6RGG (960 votes). In the Southeastern Division, current Director Mickey Baker, N4MB (1,596 votes), of West Palm Beach, Florida, was declared...
The ARRL Solar Update Solar activity has remained low this past week. The largest flare was a C9.9 on November 19 from a region just beyond the NE limb near N17. Region 4284 grew slightly in the early part of the period but was in decay after November 19. New Region 4287 was numbered. A Type II radio sweep (estimated at 695 km/s) was observed on November 19 at 2215 UTC, likely associated with a B9.0 flare from just beyond...
SKYWARN Recognition Day 2025 Cancelled NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS) has announced the cancellation of SKYWARN™ Recognition Day (SRD) 2025. The necessary time and resources required to plan a comprehensive national event for SKYWARN™ Recognition Day 2025 are not available this year. Thus, the difficult decision was made to cancel this year's event by the NWS. The NWS will work with ARRL and SKYWARN™ spotters to brainstorm i...
ARRL VEC Ready to File 2,500+ Ham Radio License Applications; FCC Extends Renewal Filing Deadline *Updated 11/20/2025 (FCC System Issues Affecting Application Processing)* *Original story 11/18/2025* ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® reports that the FCC has extended the filing deadline to March 5, 2026, for amateur radio licenses that otherwise were due to expire from October 1, 2025, to March 5, 2026. The announcement is included in an FCC Public Notice (DA-25-943) released on Mo...